“Big Event” Concert, Oral History Live!
Event Round Out Gretsch Anniversary Celebration in 2008
With great fanfare, The Gretsch Company, one of the world’s best known drum and guitar manufacturers, recently culminated its 125th anniversary year with a wave of special events. The following celebrations proved a testament to the company’s rich history and built the foundation for the next 125 years of providing high quality instruments to new and veteran Gretsch fans. (more…)
It may have been a chilly evening in NYC but the scene was HOT inside the Highline Ballroom as friends, family & associates gathered to celebrate the Gretsch 125th Anniversary on Tuesday, November 18. What better way to honor this momentous occasion than to gather some of the most renowned musicians & bands in the world and simply ROCK THE HOUSE!
The night opened with Colourslide, the Gainesville, Florida-based band that was chosen from among 879 world-wide entrants as the winner of the Next Gretsch Greats Unsigned Artist Competition.
Next up was David Lee & His Mercenaries. This Gretsch guitar artist instantly got the house jumping with his (more…)
New York City— Legendary drum and guitar manufacturer Gretsch is finalizing plans for an equally legendary celebration of its 125th Anniversary. The “Big Event,” to be held at The Highline Ballroom in New York City on November 18, will feature new and veteran Gretsch artists alike, in an eclectic evening of outstanding musical performances.
The night will open with Colourslide, the Gainesville, Florida-based band that was chosen from among 879 world-wide entrants as the winner of the Next Gretsch Greats Unsigned Artist Competition.
Next on the bill will be David Lee & His Mercenaries. This Gretsch guitar artist will no doubt have (more…)
On August 11, Berklee celebrated the 125th anniversary of the Gretsch Company, one of the world’s best-known guitar and drum makers. Members of the Berklee community packed the Berklee Performance Center for a special Gretsch clinic featuring Jim Pettit, owner of the Memphis Drum Shop and jazz guitarist/composer Bob Sabellico, who has played on sessions with Bela Fleck, Jaco Pastorius and Phoebe Snow, among many others.
Prior to the clinic, president Fred W. Gretsch, the fourth-generation descendant of company founder Friedrich Gretsch, and Joe Carducci, Gretsch’s guitar (more…)
Grand Prize Winner Colourslide to perform at Gretsch 125th Anniversary Concert in New York City on Nov 18; Lansdowne and London Egg Win Gretsch instruments and gifts!
The Gretsch Company has announced the top winners in the Next Gretsch Greats Unsigned Artist Competition, an online search for the world’s best unsigned and independent bands.
The competition began in May when 879 musical acts from the U.S., U.K., Japan, Canada, Germany, France and (more…)
Fred and Dinah Gretsch, president and CFO of Savannah-based The Gretsch Company, one of the world’s most well-known drum and guitar makers, have become the first musical instrument manufacturers to be inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.
On September 20, 2008, the couple was honored with the “Mary Tallent Pioneer Award,” a distinction given once a year to an inductee who embodies the characteristics of “Mother Mary” Tallent. Tallent was a charter member of the Atlanta Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and longtime supporter of Georgia music until her untimely death in an automobile accident in 1984.
As Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductees, the Gretsches joined the likes of Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, R.E.M., The Allman Brothers Band and (more…)
Nashville, TN June 20-22, 2008
After a 3 year absence the Summer NAMM Show returned to Music City USA. Nashville feels like the rightful host for Summer NAMM. Where else can you get so much music and history. The 3-day event was again held in the Nashville Convention Center in the heart of downtown, just across the street from the Ryman Auditorium — historic home of the Grand ole Opry. NAMM reported a 36 percent increase in show registrants as compared to last year’s show in Austin. As always, the (more…)
From Thursday, July 10 to Sunday, July 20, 2008, Gretsch collectors and NASCAR fans everywhere will have the chance to bid on a new, one-of-a-kind Gretsch Nashville guitar autographed by racing legend Kyle Petty and support a fantastic cause in the process. The auction will be hosted on eBay here:
The Gretsch Company has teamed up with the 14th Anniversary Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America, an eight-day motorcycle ride led by Petty which raises funds for and awareness of Victory Junction Gang Camp and other children’s charities. Kyle Petty and his wife Pattie founded Victory Junction in 2004 in honor of their son Adam with the mission of enriching the lives of children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses by creating (more…)